Teach children about water-saver gardening through plant selection. “My kids are really focused on water conservation,” says Sasha Kodet, education director at the San Antonio Botanical Garden and mom to Tessa, 9, and Kellen, 6. “If I'm out watering, they'll say, 'You're getting it on the driveway!'”

Teach children about water-saver gardening through plant selection. “My kids are really focused on water conservation,” says Sasha Kodet, education director at the San Antonio Botanical Garden and mom to

Close the door: Keep doors to the outside closed so you won't let air conditioning or heat escape.

Close the door: Keep doors to the outside closed so you won't let air conditioning or heat escape.

Photo: Cynthia Esparza, For The Express-News

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Anna Kehde (left rear) and her son Andrew Cox, 3, (right rear) watch Nicholas Cox, 5, picks a beet from the garden Monday April 1, 2013 at their home.

Anna Kehde (left rear) and her son Andrew Cox, 3, (right rear) watch Nicholas Cox, 5, picks a beet from the garden Monday April 1, 2013 at their home.

Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, San Antonio Express-News

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Avoid plastic bags in lunchboxes: Use recyclable containers when packing lunchboxes, with cloth napkins. “I don't send them to school with Ziplocs if at all possible,” Kodet says. As for the napkins, “You can get some really pretty designs and enjoy some beauty in your lunchbox instead of a white paper napkin that you're just going to throw away.”

Recycle: Have kids put old worksheets in the paper bin, yogurt containers in the plastic bin. Recycling may seem an obvious step, says Kimberly Pinkson of the Northern California-based nonprofit EcoMom Alliance, but “there are so many communities that still don't.” Parents can “complete the circle” by buying products made with recycled ingredients such as paper.

Recycle: Have kids put old worksheets in the paper bin, yogurt containers in the plastic bin. Recycling may seem an obvious step, says Kimberly Pinkson of the Northern California-based nonprofit EcoMom

Compost: Put leftover apple cores, banana peels and any other of nature's wrappers in a compost bin, where they eventually will break down and turn into fertilizer.

Compost: Put leftover apple cores, banana peels and any other of nature's wrappers in a compost bin, where they eventually will break down and turn into fertilizer.

Photo: Robin Jerstad, Robin Jerstad/For The Express-News

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Walk or bike: Instead of using gasoline to drive, walk or take your bicycle to school, to friends' houses or to the store.

Walk or bike: Instead of using gasoline to drive, walk or take your bicycle to school, to friends' houses or to the store.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

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Give “experience” gifts: Instead of giving toys that will break or that kids will quickly tire of, Kodet opts for taking them rock climbing or camping. “Then,” she says, “they're having experiences that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives.”

Helping the environment need not involve such monumental steps as installing solar panels or making room for a 30,000-gallon rainwater cistern.

It can be done through simple steps taught to children.

So say parents in San Antonio and across the country who are mindful about how much waste their families generate, how much water they use, and how much energy they can save.

Those parents include Anna Kehde, who has taught her three boys to put fruit and vegetable scraps either in the compost bin behind their Terrell Heights home or feed them to the family's six backyard chickens.

“It's a good way to get rid of your excess food, and then they produce eggs for us,” says Kehde of her chickens. “It makes me feel better about not wasting so much food.”

For Kehde, mom to boys James, 8, Nicholas, 5, and Andrew, 3, it's part of a larger message she is trying to impart.

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Just in time for Earth Day on Monday, here are 10 easy, everyday tips for how parents can teach their kids to lessen their carbon footprint.

Conserve water: When brushing teeth, turn off the water. Teach children about water-saver gardening through plant selection. “My kids are really focused on water conservation,” says Sasha Kodet, education director at the San Antonio Botanical Garden and mom to Tessa, 9, and Kellen, 6. “If I'm out watering, they'll say, 'You're getting it on the driveway!'” If her kids are washing fruit or veggies in the sink, they know to turn off the faucet the second they're done.

Flick the switch: Turn off the light when you leave the room.

Close the door: Keep doors to the outside closed so you won't let air conditioning or heat escape.

Garden: Kehde and her husband grow broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and much more in their backyard. “Day to day, (children) will learn that you can grow your own foods and it tastes much better and you don't put pesticides on it,” she says.

Avoid plastic bags in lunchboxes: Use recyclable containers when packing lunchboxes, with cloth napkins. “I don't send them to school with Ziplocs if at all possible,” Kodet says. As for the napkins, “You can get some really pretty designs and enjoy some beauty in your lunchbox instead of a white paper napkin that you're just going to throw away.”

Recycle: Have kids put old worksheets in the paper bin, yogurt containers in the plastic bin. Recycling may seem an obvious step, says Kimberly Pinkson of the Northern California-based nonprofit EcoMom Alliance, but “there are so many communities that still don't.” Parents can “complete the circle” by buying products made with recycled ingredients such as paper.

Compost: Put leftover apple cores, banana peels and any other of nature's wrappers in a compost bin, where they eventually will break down and turn into fertilizer.

Walk or bike: Instead of using gasoline to drive, walk or take your bicycle to school, to friends' houses or to the store.

Give “experience” gifts: Instead of giving toys that will break or that kids will quickly tire of, Kodet opts for taking them rock climbing or camping. “Then,” she says, “they're having experiences that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives.”